Browse content similar to 18/04/2017. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet where we agreed | :00:07. | :00:09. | |
that the Government should call a General Election to | :00:10. | :00:12. | |
The surprise decision - to go the polls in seven weeks' time - | :00:13. | :00:21. | |
was apparently made over the Easter weekend - | :00:22. | :00:23. | |
and the Prime Minister claims it's all about unity and stability. | :00:24. | :00:30. | |
At this moment of enormous national significance there should be unity | :00:31. | :00:34. | |
here in Westminster but instead there is division. | :00:35. | :00:38. | |
The country is coming together but Westminster is not. | :00:39. | :00:44. | |
The announcement stunned Westminster but the opposition parties say | :00:45. | :00:46. | |
they now welcome the chance to appeal to voters. | :00:47. | :00:50. | |
We're going out there to put the case for how this | :00:51. | :00:55. | |
country could be run, how it could be different, | :00:56. | :00:58. | |
how we could have a much fairer society that works for all. | :00:59. | :01:01. | |
We have the opportunity to give the British people the chance | :01:02. | :01:10. | |
to change the direction of our country, to be | :01:11. | :01:12. | |
opposed to a hard Brexit, keep us in the single market | :01:13. | :01:18. | |
and give Britain the strong opposition it needs. | :01:19. | :01:20. | |
We'll have the details and the reaction to today's | :01:21. | :01:22. | |
announcement from Westminster and around the United Kingdom. | :01:23. | :01:24. | |
In Scotland, the First Minister says the vote can strengthen the demands | :01:25. | :01:27. | |
for a second independence referendum. | :01:28. | :01:28. | |
It is very clear the Prime Minister's announcement today is one | :01:29. | :01:32. | |
all about the narrow interests of her own party, not the interests | :01:33. | :01:35. | |
This will be the third UK-wide vote in the space of two years, | :01:36. | :01:44. | |
we'll be asking voters how keen they are. | :01:45. | :01:49. | |
Not another one? Oh, for God's sake. | :01:50. | :01:51. | |
There's too much politics going on at the moment. | :01:52. | :01:56. | |
On the ground with Iraqi troops in Mosul, in a now painstaking | :01:57. | :02:07. | |
battle to retake the city from so-called Islamic State. | :02:08. | :02:15. | |
This battle has been raging for more than two hours and it's over a | :02:16. | :02:18. | |
matter of streets they're fighting. Prince William follows his brother | :02:19. | :02:25. | |
Prince Harry in speaking of his mother's death | :02:26. | :02:29. | |
and the impact it's had. And, Leicester give Atletico Madrid | :02:30. | :02:31. | |
a scare but it wasn't We will look at how tomorrow | :02:32. | :02:41. | |
morning's front pages are covering the call for a snap election. We | :02:42. | :02:49. | |
will be joined by Joe Watts of The Evening Standard and the | :02:50. | :02:52. | |
Conservative commentator Laura Perrins. | :02:53. | :03:02. | |
Good evening from Downing Street where the Prime Minister took | :03:03. | :03:07. | |
everyone by surprise earlier today and announced her plan to call | :03:08. | :03:10. | |
a general election on 8th June, that's three years earlier | :03:11. | :03:12. | |
Theresa May said it was all about gaining unity and stability | :03:13. | :03:20. | |
But her opponents accused the Prime Minister of breaking her | :03:21. | :03:24. | |
word and of pursuing a cynical plan for party political advantage. | :03:25. | :03:29. | |
The timetable for the coming weeks looks like this. | :03:30. | :03:32. | |
In today's announcement, Mrs May said the Government | :03:33. | :03:34. | |
would present a motion in parliament tomorrow asking MPs | :03:35. | :03:44. | |
to agree to the request for a general election. | :03:45. | :03:51. | |
This vote is needed under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act | :03:52. | :03:53. | |
because the next election wasn't due to take place until 2020. | :03:54. | :03:56. | |
Opposition parties say they will agree to the request, | :03:57. | :03:58. | |
Parliament would probably be dissolved on May 3rd, | :03:59. | :04:01. | |
Polling day across the UK will be on Thursday June 8th. | :04:02. | :04:06. | |
We'll have all the details and reaction to the Prime | :04:07. | :04:09. | |
Minister's surprise announcement and we start | :04:10. | :04:13. | |
with our political editor, Laura Kuenssberg. | :04:14. | :04:15. | |
Did Theresa May even surprise herself? | :04:16. | :04:24. | |
Her biggest decision as Prime Minister, | :04:25. | :04:27. | |
I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet where we agreed | :04:28. | :04:33. | |
that the Government should call a General Election to be | :04:34. | :04:36. | |
But she says to get Brexit done, she needs more support around here. | :04:37. | :04:47. | |
In recent weeks, Labour have threatened to vote | :04:48. | :04:49. | |
against the final agreement we reach with the European Union. | :04:50. | :04:52. | |
The Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business | :04:53. | :04:57. | |
The Scottish National Party say they will vote against | :04:58. | :05:03. | |
the legislation that formally repeals Britain's membership | :05:04. | :05:05. | |
And unelected members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us | :05:06. | :05:12. | |
Our opponents believe because the Government's majority | :05:13. | :05:19. | |
is so small that our resolve will weaken and they can force | :05:20. | :05:22. | |
So tomorrow there will be a vote in Parliament that | :05:23. | :05:29. | |
will all but certainly get the process going. | :05:30. | :05:34. | |
And if you are in any doubt about how the Tories | :05:35. | :05:37. | |
I have only recently and reluctantly come to this conclusion. | :05:38. | :05:43. | |
Since I became Prime Minister, I have said that there should be no | :05:44. | :05:46. | |
But now I have concluded that the only way to guarantee | :05:47. | :05:52. | |
certainty and stability for the years ahead is to hold this | :05:53. | :05:56. | |
election and seek your support for the decisions I must take. | :05:57. | :06:00. | |
Every vote for the Conservatives will make me stronger | :06:01. | :06:04. | |
when I negotiate for Britain with the Prime Ministers, | :06:05. | :06:06. | |
Chancellors and Presidents of the European Union. | :06:07. | :06:09. | |
Every vote for the Conservatives will mean we can stick to our plan | :06:10. | :06:14. | |
for a stronger Britain and take the right long-term decisions | :06:15. | :06:21. | |
Most of her ministers had been in the dark. | :06:22. | :06:24. | |
Only in the last few days did she decide. | :06:25. | :06:27. | |
Theresa May only moved in here 279 days ago. | :06:28. | :06:29. | |
And she said consistently that there should be no | :06:30. | :06:32. | |
Quite simply, she has changed her mind. | :06:33. | :06:37. | |
What happens next for Theresa May will be up to you. | :06:38. | :06:40. | |
When did you know there was going to be an election? | :06:41. | :06:42. | |
When did you know, Secretary of State? | :06:43. | :06:45. | |
A bit reluctant to tell us when you knew about the election? | :06:46. | :06:48. | |
When did she change her mind, Chief Whip? | :06:49. | :06:50. | |
When did the Prime Minister change her mind? | :06:51. | :06:52. | |
When did you know there was going to be an election? | :06:53. | :06:56. | |
You could forgive their surprise perhaps because they'd | :06:57. | :07:02. | |
I don't think there is a need for an election. | :07:03. | :07:05. | |
I think the next election will be in 2020. | :07:06. | :07:07. | |
Labour will support tomorrow's vote to push the button, | :07:08. | :07:11. | |
even though the weakness of Jeremy Corbyn is one | :07:12. | :07:14. | |
of the reasons why an early election is on. | :07:15. | :07:17. | |
Yet his supporters hope that his ideas will cut through. | :07:18. | :07:21. | |
I welcome the opportunity for us to put the case | :07:22. | :07:24. | |
to the people of Britain, to stand up against this government | :07:25. | :07:27. | |
and its failed economic agenda, which has left our NHS | :07:28. | :07:30. | |
with problems, which has left our schools underfunded, | :07:31. | :07:33. | |
We want to put our case out there for the people of Britain, | :07:34. | :07:38. | |
of a society that cares for all, an economy that works for all | :07:39. | :07:41. | |
More than ever, perhaps, this election will not just | :07:42. | :07:52. | |
be about what happens here but the whole | :07:53. | :07:54. | |
The Tories won't promise another vote on independence in Scotland, | :07:55. | :07:57. | |
This is the biggest U-turn in recent political history. | :07:58. | :08:00. | |
But it is very clear that the Prime Minister's | :08:01. | :08:03. | |
announcement today is one all about the narrow interests | :08:04. | :08:06. | |
of her own party, not the interests of the country overall. | :08:07. | :08:10. | |
On the road already, as planned, for the local elections, | :08:11. | :08:15. | |
the Lib Dems see opportunity to come back from rock bottom. | :08:16. | :08:19. | |
It is an opportunity for the people of this country to change | :08:20. | :08:22. | |
the direction of this country, to decide that they do not want | :08:23. | :08:25. | |
a hard Brexit, they want to keep Britain in the single market, | :08:26. | :08:29. | |
and indeed it is an opportunity for us to have a decent, | :08:30. | :08:32. | |
strong opposition in this country that we desperately need. | :08:33. | :08:36. | |
And though the Tories start this election having gone back | :08:37. | :08:38. | |
Many people in the country will think, "Theresa May told me | :08:39. | :08:44. | |
she would not do this and now she is doing this can I trust her?" | :08:45. | :08:47. | |
When the facts change, you change your mind. | :08:48. | :08:50. | |
As she said herself, she was reluctant to make this | :08:51. | :08:53. | |
decision, but she was brought to this decision by the fact that | :08:54. | :08:57. | |
presenting herself with a mandate that allows us to get the best | :08:58. | :09:02. | |
outcome for Brexit and the best outcome for Britain in her policy, | :09:03. | :09:07. | |
that is the thing that is in the national interest. | :09:08. | :09:11. | |
It looks like this election is entirely about Brexit, | :09:12. | :09:14. | |
that Theresa May is so worried about how hard it will be, | :09:15. | :09:17. | |
she thinks she needs a thumping majority of Tory backbenchers | :09:18. | :09:20. | |
Of course we want a strong mandate, but the aim here is to do two | :09:21. | :09:27. | |
things, one is to provide a strong mandate for Brexit, and the other | :09:28. | :09:31. | |
is to provide a strong mandate for the future. | :09:32. | :09:34. | |
The country will be asked for its view again, less than a year | :09:35. | :09:38. | |
since the referendum, when everything around here changed. | :09:39. | :09:40. | |
I think she's been changing her mind over a little while. | :09:41. | :09:44. | |
I think her instinct was not to do it for strong reasons, | :09:45. | :09:47. | |
she didn't want the public to think it was political. | :09:48. | :09:50. | |
I think the whole sense and the nature of Parliament has | :09:51. | :09:52. | |
changed quite a lot in the last month or two. | :09:53. | :09:55. | |
This is the ultimate test for us because that is | :09:56. | :09:57. | |
We are in politics to win elections, to win power, | :09:58. | :10:01. | |
to put our values into practice, and we've got to seize any | :10:02. | :10:05. | |
How many more times are you going to change your mind, Prime Minister? | :10:06. | :10:10. | |
Win well, and Theresa May escapes some political problems, | :10:11. | :10:15. | |
but the hurly-burly of any campaign claims casualties, too. | :10:16. | :10:18. | |
Just ask anyone who has ever lived at this address. | :10:19. | :10:20. | |
Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News, Westminster. | :10:21. | :10:26. | |
Jeremy Corbyn said he welcomed the decision to call an early | :10:27. | :10:29. | |
election, saying Labour would stand up for the people of Britain, | :10:30. | :10:32. | |
not least on the state of the National Health Service. | :10:33. | :10:36. | |
The Liberal Democrats' Tim Farron promised to fight | :10:37. | :10:38. | |
against what he called a hard Brexit, while the First Minister | :10:39. | :10:41. | |
of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, said today's announcement was a huge | :10:42. | :10:43. | |
political miscalculation by Theresa May. | :10:44. | :10:48. | |
More on the impact in Scotland in a moment, but first our deputy | :10:49. | :10:51. | |
political editor John Pienaar looks at reaction in Westminster | :10:52. | :10:53. | |
Westminster's shutting up shop soon, again. | :10:54. | :11:00. | |
The soundbites, the slogans, all desperate for your attention. | :11:01. | :11:07. | |
So loyal Jeremy Corbyn supporters are working hard | :11:08. | :11:18. | |
from the start to beat the odds, to point out the issues on policies | :11:19. | :11:21. | |
they hope may somehow prove the polls and pundits wrong. | :11:22. | :11:25. | |
I want to use the period until June 8th to set out a positive vision of | :11:26. | :11:31. | |
the kind of society that we can live in. Post-Brexit vision of Britain | :11:32. | :11:36. | |
where this country works for them, for everybody and for the equality | :11:37. | :11:41. | |
of everybody in work. The foundation for all to build a fairer economy by | :11:42. | :11:46. | |
investment in good jobs for the future and investment in good | :11:47. | :11:48. | |
quality services for the future. The British public when it comes | :11:49. | :11:52. | |
to General Elections vote on leadership and as of now | :11:53. | :11:55. | |
Jeremy Corbyn is a mile behind. I think the more people focus | :11:56. | :11:58. | |
on our programme and our leadership, the more tawdry what Theresa May's | :11:59. | :12:01. | |
offering will seem. The British public don't want | :12:02. | :12:07. | |
a Prime Minister hand The British public did not | :12:08. | :12:10. | |
vote to be poorer in The more people focus | :12:11. | :12:13. | |
on the issues and the people, Is he going to be any kind of asset | :12:14. | :12:20. | |
to you in your campaign, No, I will be the candidate | :12:21. | :12:28. | |
in Chester, and it will be my picture on the leaflet and my name | :12:29. | :12:32. | |
on the ballot paper. I will be talking about my record | :12:33. | :12:35. | |
and the things I have achieved. What about Jeremy Corbyn, is he | :12:36. | :12:38. | |
an asset or a liability, in a word? Well, he attracts some people's | :12:39. | :12:41. | |
favourable attention. Good times for the Lib Dems | :12:42. | :12:48. | |
seem a long time ago. In the last election, | :12:49. | :12:51. | |
big hitters, Cabinet ministers, Now they are the most | :12:52. | :12:53. | |
pro-Europe party in politics, and survivors of that famous rout | :12:54. | :12:58. | |
believe they can turn scepticism If you look at the British political | :12:59. | :13:01. | |
spectrum, there is quite a large centre ground, | :13:02. | :13:12. | |
which certainly Jeremy Corbyn, as And which Theresa May, | :13:13. | :13:14. | |
by pursuing hard Brexit, also does not seem to want to occupy | :13:15. | :13:27. | |
either that is there You are hoping this | :13:28. | :13:30. | |
might be the beginning Let's put it no more highly | :13:31. | :13:33. | |
than that, but I would be very happy with the beginning of the beginning | :13:34. | :13:38. | |
of a comeback. The Tories sound confident, | :13:39. | :13:41. | |
but some in former Lib Dem strongholds in London | :13:42. | :13:43. | |
and the South West expect a tough fight and just hope | :13:44. | :13:45. | |
that the Lib Dems aren't ready I don't think the Liberal Democrats | :13:46. | :13:48. | |
have restored their infrastructure But you know you will have | :13:49. | :13:51. | |
a fight on your hands? Of course we're going | :13:52. | :13:56. | |
to have a fight on our hands and we're always going to fight | :13:57. | :13:58. | |
to win, as well. Since Nigel Farage left | :13:59. | :14:01. | |
to seek his own political fortunes, backing Donald Trump, | :14:02. | :14:04. | |
not leading Ukip after the EU referendum, | :14:05. | :14:06. | |
the party has lost ground. They have lost the odd election | :14:07. | :14:08. | |
they might have won. The referendum has gone, | :14:09. | :14:13. | |
and so has Nigel Farage. Come on, John, I don't | :14:14. | :14:15. | |
buy that at all. Theresa May may well have | :14:16. | :14:19. | |
triggered Article 50, but the negotiations have | :14:20. | :14:21. | |
not started yet. If people want the Brexit | :14:22. | :14:23. | |
that they voted for on June 23rd, they'll only get that, | :14:24. | :14:26. | |
I believe, if you get Ukip MPs elected to the House of Commons, | :14:27. | :14:28. | |
and that is why we'll go into this And the Greens too are | :14:29. | :14:32. | |
sticking to their mission. You look optimistic, | :14:33. | :14:35. | |
but you're going to need to be. We are optimistic, | :14:36. | :14:37. | |
because we are the party opposing extreme Brexit, | :14:38. | :14:39. | |
opposing the decimation of public services and providing those | :14:40. | :14:42. | |
important environmental protections. All the parties must now scramble to | :14:43. | :14:53. | |
get candidates, raise cash, to get out a manifesto that will give the | :14:54. | :14:59. | |
country a choice for five years. One burden Theresa May is avoiding is TV | :15:00. | :15:03. | |
debates. Labour's agreed that all MPs will be entitled to stand as | :15:04. | :15:07. | |
candidates, though Team Corbyn was keen some would have to prove their | :15:08. | :15:11. | |
loyalty first and that a private meeting of Labour MPs tonight | :15:12. | :15:15. | |
everyone agreed they would fight hard and privately they all | :15:16. | :15:16. | |
understand they're going to have to. Our political editor, | :15:17. | :15:32. | |
Laura Kuenssberg, is with me. The Prime Minister has been clear, | :15:33. | :15:39. | |
no early election. She said it many times. What has changed? You are | :15:40. | :15:43. | |
right. There have been good arguments for going to the country | :15:44. | :15:46. | |
for many months. Why wouldn't they want to exploit the current weakness | :15:47. | :15:50. | |
in the Labour Party. Why wouldn't she want her own individual mandate | :15:51. | :15:53. | |
when she moved in and set her own priorities to free herself once and | :15:54. | :15:57. | |
for all from the Tory manifesto of 2015? I'm told that in recent days | :15:58. | :16:02. | |
what has changed her mind is one argument in particular about the | :16:03. | :16:05. | |
timetabling of the UK general election and the timetable of | :16:06. | :16:09. | |
Brexit. I'm told she has found the case more and more compelling to get | :16:10. | :16:14. | |
the election out of the way to avoid a very difficult situation when, in | :16:15. | :16:21. | |
2019, just as the EU negotiations are at their crescendo, Number Ten | :16:22. | :16:25. | |
would be would be politically run rake they would be starting to think | :16:26. | :16:29. | |
about an election. They believe in that sense EU leaders might have | :16:30. | :16:32. | |
pushed them around because they would know at that point they would | :16:33. | :16:38. | |
be afraid of doing anything politically important. That isn't | :16:39. | :16:44. | |
new, that has been made privately for months. It's that argument the | :16:45. | :16:48. | |
Prime Minister found more compelling and in and amongst a whole mixture | :16:49. | :16:52. | |
of reasons that tipped the balance in a matter of the last few days. | :16:53. | :16:57. | |
Let us talk about risk. Risk for all parties who engage in elections. The | :16:58. | :17:01. | |
risk especially for Theresa May? It is risky. If you believe the polls, | :17:02. | :17:06. | |
they suggest, which of course is the calculation that she has made, she | :17:07. | :17:09. | |
is on course to increase her majority. She would be on course for | :17:10. | :17:14. | |
a hefty majority. Something bigger than the wafer thin insecurity she | :17:15. | :17:18. | |
faces right now. As we know, as xaens of the last couple of years | :17:19. | :17:23. | |
have tested to destruction, campaigns take on lives of their | :17:24. | :17:27. | |
own. If we think about Jeremy Corbyn when he stood as Labour leader. | :17:28. | :17:31. | |
Nobody thought he had a chance apart from trusty volunteers in his | :17:32. | :17:35. | |
campaign at the start of the referendum campaign not so long ago. | :17:36. | :17:38. | |
Few people believed that was winnable from the leave side. The | :17:39. | :17:42. | |
early reasons that Theresa May had not to go to the country, one of | :17:43. | :17:49. | |
them was that the campaign could be very unpredictable any election | :17:50. | :17:51. | |
campaign is unpredictable. No question about that. We will pick up | :17:52. | :17:56. | |
on those themes later. Thank you very much. Laura Kuenssberg for us. | :17:57. | :18:01. | |
So, in just over seven weeks' time, voters across the United Kingdom | :18:02. | :18:04. | |
will be asked to go to the polls yet again. | :18:05. | :18:07. | |
It will be the second general election in the space of two years | :18:08. | :18:10. | |
and that's on top of two referendums, one on Scottish | :18:11. | :18:12. | |
independnece, one on EU membership since 2014. | :18:13. | :18:14. | |
So how do voters feel about another major poll and the weeks | :18:15. | :18:17. | |
Our home editor, Mark Easton, has been to Leeds to | :18:18. | :18:20. | |
Is this election about health and welfare, jobs and housing? | :18:21. | :18:28. | |
I'm in the city of Leeds, torn down the middle by Brexit | :18:29. | :18:34. | |
But more specifically, I'm in Morley and Outwood, | :18:35. | :18:49. | |
a constituency equally split down the middle between Labour | :18:50. | :18:52. | |
Former Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, found a new career on the dance | :18:53. | :18:55. | |
floor after this traditionally Labour stronghold was sensationally | :18:56. | :18:57. | |
lost to the Tories, with a wafer thin 422 vote majority. | :18:58. | :19:00. | |
So are people excited about another chance to get voting? | :19:01. | :19:02. | |
Have you heard they've called an election? | :19:03. | :19:04. | |
Yes, and I don't think they should have done. | :19:05. | :19:06. | |
Unfortunately, that's the way the Prime Minister wants it, | :19:07. | :19:08. | |
Do you think she's right to call one? | :19:09. | :19:13. | |
Why not, give everybody a chance to speak. | :19:14. | :19:15. | |
It lets the people vote for someone, instead of Theresa May | :19:16. | :19:24. | |
getting forced upon us, kind of thing. | :19:25. | :19:26. | |
I know I'm going to put my vote to use. | :19:27. | :19:28. | |
Because the leader of Labour, I hope, doesn't win, | :19:29. | :19:36. | |
we might get a new leader for the Labour Party. | :19:37. | :19:40. | |
Because people up north voted to come out and the truth | :19:41. | :19:48. | |
Things are going up in the shop, aren't they? | :19:49. | :19:53. | |
People view things different when prices are going up. | :19:54. | :19:59. | |
She seems to have a huge lead in the opinion polls. | :20:00. | :20:02. | |
They'll say I'm Elizabeth Taylor if you ask folks. | :20:03. | :20:13. | |
In Leed's financial district, the largest in the UK outside | :20:14. | :20:16. | |
London, attitudes to the snap election are different, | :20:17. | :20:18. | |
with some thinking the poll might fire the starting gun | :20:19. | :20:20. | |
The whole left-right system is quite old fashioned. | :20:21. | :20:24. | |
Maybe we need to shake up politics a bit, reconfigure the way the party | :20:25. | :20:29. | |
system works and maybe people can align themselves more with parties. | :20:30. | :20:31. | |
Do you think it's right that she should get this mandate, | :20:32. | :20:37. | |
because, of course, she became Prime Minister without an election, | :20:38. | :20:40. | |
I think she needs to get out there and actually be | :20:41. | :20:49. | |
I think that gives her a lot more, you know, credibility really. | :20:50. | :20:53. | |
And perhaps clout in the negotiations too, do you think? | :20:54. | :20:56. | |
You can't see why - it's not going to harm her at all, is it? | :20:57. | :21:00. | |
Many people are trying to work out what they think this | :21:01. | :21:03. | |
snap election means - for politics, for Brexit | :21:04. | :21:05. | |
In Scotland, the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, says the early | :21:06. | :21:10. | |
election can reinforce the Scottish Parliament's | :21:11. | :21:11. | |
call for a second independence referendum. | :21:12. | :21:20. | |
Ms Sturgeon accused Theresa May of pursuing a "narrow, | :21:21. | :21:26. | |
divisive, right-wing agenda" and said the voters of Scotland | :21:27. | :21:28. | |
had an opportunity to make their voice heard. | :21:29. | :21:30. | |
Our Scotland editor, Sarah Smith, reports on the reaction | :21:31. | :21:32. | |
As voters across Scotland are asked to decide who they want to represent | :21:33. | :21:36. | |
them in Westminster, the argument will be | :21:37. | :21:38. | |
dominated by the question of whether Westminster should | :21:39. | :21:40. | |
The issue of independence, and whether Scotland should have | :21:41. | :21:46. | |
another vote on that, will be central to this election. | :21:47. | :21:49. | |
Nicola Sturgeon says she's ready for the fight. | :21:50. | :21:53. | |
I think the Prime Minister has called this election for selfish, | :21:54. | :21:56. | |
narrow, party political interests, but she has called it and, | :21:57. | :21:58. | |
therefore, I relish the prospect of getting out there, | :21:59. | :22:00. | |
standing up for Scotland's interests and values, | :22:01. | :22:03. | |
standing up for Scotland's voice being heard and standing | :22:04. | :22:06. | |
against the ability of a right-wing Conservative Party to impose | :22:07. | :22:09. | |
whatever policies it wants in Scotland. | :22:10. | :22:14. | |
The SNP believe this could be a great opportunity. | :22:15. | :22:19. | |
If they turn in a strong performance at this election, | :22:20. | :22:21. | |
it could bolster their arguments for another referendum | :22:22. | :22:23. | |
The only problem is, they did so well in the 2015 election - | :22:24. | :22:31. | |
winning 56 out of Scotland's 59 seats - it's hard to see how | :22:32. | :22:34. | |
And if they lose some seats, well, of course, their opponents | :22:35. | :22:39. | |
will claim that shows Scottish voters don't want an | :22:40. | :22:42. | |
Many voters who do not want an independent Scotland | :22:43. | :22:47. | |
or another referendum, now see the Tories as the staunch | :22:48. | :22:49. | |
defenders of the Union, which they hope could attract more | :22:50. | :22:52. | |
I don't take any voters for granted, and nor should any other party, | :22:53. | :22:58. | |
but we're fit for this fight, we're ready to go, we think we can | :22:59. | :23:01. | |
put on seats across the country and I think you'll find that "peak | :23:02. | :23:04. | |
Nat" has passed and there will be fewer SNP MPs after 8th June. | :23:05. | :23:08. | |
That's certainly what I'll be working towards. | :23:09. | :23:10. | |
The Scottish Labour leader was launching her local election | :23:11. | :23:12. | |
campaign when the news came through from Westminster | :23:13. | :23:14. | |
There's been a slight adjustment to today's order! | :23:15. | :23:19. | |
Scottish Labour often struggle to make their arguments heard | :23:20. | :23:21. | |
when the debate is dominated by the question of independence. | :23:22. | :23:26. | |
This is a chance for everyone across the United Kingdom | :23:27. | :23:29. | |
to have their say about the type of government that they want. | :23:30. | :23:32. | |
What you're going to see is a Labour campaign focused on Labour values, | :23:33. | :23:35. | |
I think that's something worth fighting for. | :23:36. | :23:38. | |
The Scottish Lib Dems will also be arguing against another | :23:39. | :23:40. | |
We want to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom and we want | :23:41. | :23:48. | |
to keep the United Kingdom at the heart of Europe, | :23:49. | :23:51. | |
That's the opportunity in this campaign. | :23:52. | :23:53. | |
There is a certain irony here, which will not be lost | :23:54. | :23:56. | |
They were told, by Theresa May - now is not the time for a referendum | :23:57. | :24:03. | |
on independence because politicians should be concentrating on Brexit. | :24:04. | :24:06. | |
Well, wow she's called an election that will be, in Scotland, | :24:07. | :24:09. | |
We're also going to be assessing the impact of today's news | :24:10. | :24:24. | |
in Northern Ireland and Wales, but we start in Scotland. | :24:25. | :24:28. | |
Sarah, when Nicola Sturgeon says in her view this is a mainlying o | :24:29. | :24:33. | |
miscalculation by Theresa May, what is her thinking there? Well, Nicola | :24:34. | :24:39. | |
Sturgeon thinks that this decision could backfire on the Prime Minister | :24:40. | :24:42. | |
in Scotland because she really believes the SNP are in a position | :24:43. | :24:45. | |
to do well in this election and that if they do, then that will make it | :24:46. | :24:50. | |
much Hardinger for a Westminster Government toll refuse to allow a | :24:51. | :24:54. | |
referendum on Scottish independence. Privately though, the SNP will admit | :24:55. | :24:57. | |
it will be incredibly difficult for them to repeat the astonishing | :24:58. | :25:01. | |
success they had in 2015. You could have a situation where the SNP win | :25:02. | :25:06. | |
most of the seats in Scotland, but it still looks like their support is | :25:07. | :25:09. | |
slipping. The Tories are convinced they can make significant gains in | :25:10. | :25:13. | |
Scotland now that they have successfully positioned themselves | :25:14. | :25:19. | |
as the party most dedicated to keeping the UK united. The | :25:20. | :25:24. | |
Conservatives could put it in their manifesto their opposition to | :25:25. | :25:27. | |
another referendum on Scottish independence. If they won the | :25:28. | :25:29. | |
general election across the UK they could say they have an electoral | :25:30. | :25:33. | |
mandate to stop an independence referendum. Although this election | :25:34. | :25:36. | |
here in Scotland will be dominated by that question, it may not resolve | :25:37. | :25:41. | |
the matter of Scottish independence. There are many here in Northern | :25:42. | :25:44. | |
Ireland who feels this vote could add to a sense of political | :25:45. | :25:47. | |
instability. Remember people here have been to the polls twice in the | :25:48. | :25:50. | |
last 12 months. Both for Assembly elections and the last one was | :25:51. | :25:55. | |
itself a snap election. After the complete collapse of power-sharing | :25:56. | :25:58. | |
at Stormont. That is a crisis hasn't gone away. The parties at Stormont | :25:59. | :26:02. | |
have failed to come up with a deal toll restore the Government there. | :26:03. | :26:06. | |
That's despite two deadlines and the reality is, calling this vote is | :26:07. | :26:09. | |
only going to lead it to be more difficult. Those negotiations really | :26:10. | :26:14. | |
have little chance of success now. That's because election campaigns | :26:15. | :26:19. | |
here tend to be bitter and divisive. Some political commentators called | :26:20. | :26:24. | |
the last one nakedly sectarian. There is no suggestion this one will | :26:25. | :26:30. | |
be different. Unionists are calling it an opportunity to show support | :26:31. | :26:36. | |
for the UK. The Republicans are raising the dangers of Brexit and | :26:37. | :26:40. | |
pushing for a referendum on a united Ireland. With the Westminster can | :26:41. | :26:55. | |
take over the running of the Government here or call another | :26:56. | :27:00. | |
Assembly election alongside this general general election. In Wales | :27:01. | :27:03. | |
it's more straight-forward than in Northern Ireland. There will be | :27:04. | :27:07. | |
intensity nevertheless. Enthusiasm today from the Conservatives, but | :27:08. | :27:12. | |
also the leader of Plaid Cymru, she said it was game on. The leader of | :27:13. | :27:17. | |
Welsh Labour, the First Minister in Cardiff, Carwyn Jones, questioned | :27:18. | :27:21. | |
the timing and questioned whether it was in the national interest. He 7 | :27:22. | :27:25. | |
will be acutely aware of the potential vulnerability of a number | :27:26. | :27:29. | |
of Labour constituencies in a general election. Two years ago, the | :27:30. | :27:35. | |
Conservatives put Labour under considerable pressure in parts of | :27:36. | :27:39. | |
Wales. The Tory calculation will be that Wales voted to leave and, as | :27:40. | :27:45. | |
such, because of that, there will be large numbers of people in Wales | :27:46. | :27:48. | |
prepared to give Theresa May a mandate to do exactly that. One | :27:49. | :27:52. | |
final thought, the EU referendum campaign in Wales was hugely | :27:53. | :27:56. | |
divisive and bruising. I think the question tonight is whether the | :27:57. | :28:00. | |
debate has moved on or whether it will be a re-run of that referendum | :28:01. | :28:05. | |
campaign and the old wounds are reopened. Nick, many thanks. | :28:06. | :28:12. | |
In the weeks ahead, much of the intense campaigning | :28:13. | :28:18. | |
will focus on dozens of key battleground seats, especially | :28:19. | :28:20. | |
in the Midlands and the north of England, where the Conservatives | :28:21. | :28:23. | |
will be looking to boost the modest Commons majority they won last time, | :28:24. | :28:26. | |
and Labour say they'll be hoping to win more support | :28:27. | :28:30. | |
by campaigning on issues such as health and education. | :28:31. | :28:33. | |
Our political correspondent, Vicky Young, takes a look at some | :28:34. | :28:35. | |
of the constituencies likely to be part of the key battleground | :28:36. | :28:38. | |
Theresa May says she wants certainty and stability for the UK | :28:39. | :28:45. | |
and for her that means a decisive Conservative election victory. | :28:46. | :28:50. | |
She's made the calculation that she can improve on her party's | :28:51. | :28:53. | |
This is the electoral map showing the results | :28:54. | :29:02. | |
Most striking are the swathes of blue across England and SNP | :29:03. | :29:05. | |
The Lib Dems and DUP, eight seats each. | :29:06. | :29:18. | |
With other parties factored in, it left the Tories with a very slim | :29:19. | :29:21. | |
So where will the Tories try to boost their numbers? | :29:22. | :29:36. | |
The North West and the Midlands are crucial battle grounds. | :29:37. | :29:38. | |
Here, there are numerous marginal constituencies where very few votes | :29:39. | :29:40. | |
At the last election, Labour made little headway here. | :29:41. | :29:44. | |
In the West Midlands, high on the list for the Tories, will be | :29:45. | :29:47. | |
places like Wolverhampton South West and Walsall North, both have | :29:48. | :29:49. | |
But some argue that the current Tory lead in the polls might not be | :29:50. | :29:53. | |
easily translated into seat gains from Labour. | :29:54. | :29:56. | |
Once you start looking at the electoral geography | :29:57. | :30:03. | |
of Labour's vote, it has a lot of very safe Labour seats, | :30:04. | :30:07. | |
and therefore, getting a large majority can be quite difficult | :30:08. | :30:09. | |
and certainly if the polls are perhaps exaggerating the Tories' | :30:10. | :30:12. | |
lead a little bit or certainly if that lead comes down, to let's | :30:13. | :30:15. | |
say seven, eight nine points, still quite substantial, | :30:16. | :30:22. | |
that could still mean that Theresa May doesn't | :30:23. | :30:24. | |
like as large a majority she might like. | :30:25. | :30:27. | |
Labour desperately need a revival in Scotland if they're to form | :30:28. | :30:30. | |
But the Tories and Lib Dems will also be hoping to prise some | :30:31. | :30:34. | |
Fascinating too will be the south-west of England, | :30:35. | :30:37. | |
They were wiped out here at the last election | :30:38. | :30:40. | |
But how will their pro-EU message go down in a region | :30:41. | :30:46. | |
It might be better received in some of the London suburbs which voted | :30:47. | :30:52. | |
The Conservatives could have a real fight on their hands in former | :30:53. | :30:59. | |
Lib Dem constituencies such as Kingston-upon-Thames | :31:00. | :31:07. | |
and Twickenham where Sir Vince Cable says he'll stand again. | :31:08. | :31:10. | |
But if you look at last year's referendum result, you can see why | :31:11. | :31:14. | |
the Prime Minister wants to frame this as a Brexit election. | :31:15. | :31:16. | |
But many of them have Labour MPs who backed Remain. | :31:17. | :31:20. | |
She also wants to attract some of the four million voters | :31:21. | :31:22. | |
General election campaigns can be unpredictable and just two | :31:23. | :31:26. | |
years after the last one, voters must decide again | :31:27. | :31:28. | |
whether there will be dramatic changes to the electoral | :31:29. | :31:30. | |
Let's get some more reaction to today's news | :31:31. | :31:41. | |
Our Europe editor, Katya Adler, is in Paris tonight, | :31:42. | :31:47. | |
but first let's speak to our business editor, Simon Jack, | :31:48. | :31:49. | |
What is your reading of the way that the markets reacted to the news | :31:50. | :32:02. | |
today? Well, this may be a political gamble but the folks who make bets | :32:03. | :32:06. | |
in the offices behind me like Theresa May's odds in this one. You | :32:07. | :32:15. | |
saw the pound strengthen, they think the economy is doing well, | :32:16. | :32:18. | |
unemployment rate is low and average earnings are going up a bit more | :32:19. | :32:21. | |
than the cost of living and crucial to understanding the timing of this, | :32:22. | :32:24. | |
that is not expected to last for long, so get this done before | :32:25. | :32:28. | |
inflation, widely expected to rise, starts eating into people's | :32:29. | :32:31. | |
earnings. So the markets think she will win. They think she will get a | :32:32. | :32:36. | |
bigger majority, possibly less beholden to some of the hardline | :32:37. | :32:40. | |
Eurosceptics in her own party and the markets think that will give her | :32:41. | :32:44. | |
a stronger and a freer hand in the negotiations to come, so the pound | :32:45. | :32:48. | |
has rallied. What is good for the pound is not so good for the stock | :32:49. | :32:53. | |
market, lots of companies here make earnings overseas, as the pound | :32:54. | :32:57. | |
strengthens, those profits are worth less in sterling terms. The stock | :32:58. | :33:00. | |
market had one of its worst days in months. The pound is the one to | :33:01. | :33:03. | |
watch, at the moment the markets like her chances. | :33:04. | :33:10. | |
Thank you very much. Let's go live to Paris. | :33:11. | :33:15. | |
What did you make of the kind of reaction we have seen today from EU | :33:16. | :33:21. | |
leaders? Well, officially in Brussels a country's election is | :33:22. | :33:24. | |
very much seen as a domestic affair and brows sells likes to stay | :33:25. | :33:29. | |
neutral but with Brexit being such an all-consuming issue such | :33:30. | :33:31. | |
officials could barely contain themselves. We had the President of | :33:32. | :33:38. | |
the European Council, Donald Tus k k who tweeted it was like a Hitchcock | :33:39. | :33:46. | |
film, first the earthquake and the tensions rises. . There is a strong | :33:47. | :33:51. | |
sense of optimism. Theresa May has called this election hoping to | :33:52. | :33:55. | |
strengthen her hand in Brexit ns but officials believe that a strong win | :33:56. | :33:59. | |
for Theresa May would help the EU too. They believe that they want to | :34:00. | :34:03. | |
have a strong Prime Minister opposite them at the negotiating | :34:04. | :34:08. | |
table, not one they perceive as weak, hostage to interested parties | :34:09. | :34:12. | |
and likely to do u-turns in the negotiation. Officials in Brussels | :34:13. | :34:17. | |
and Berlin and here in Paris want Theresa May to do well. And if those | :34:18. | :34:23. | |
negotiations following the elections do well, I have been told by high | :34:24. | :34:28. | |
level sources tonight, then the EU would be open to starting those | :34:29. | :34:31. | |
trade deals, the trade talks about a future relationship between the UK | :34:32. | :34:36. | |
and the EU far earlier than had been imagined. But remember, that when | :34:37. | :34:40. | |
the EU talks about good progress in Brexit and I heard from a top level | :34:41. | :34:44. | |
source tonight he believes the chances for a good deal for both | :34:45. | :34:48. | |
sides now are far improved, but they talk about good progress from the | :34:49. | :34:53. | |
EU's point of view. Thank you very much. | :34:54. | :34:58. | |
We'll have more from Downing Street later in the programme, | :34:59. | :35:01. | |
and we'll be looking at previous instances of British voters | :35:02. | :35:04. | |
going to the polls several times in a relatively short period. | :35:05. | :35:09. | |
But first, let's have a look at the day's other news with Reeta. | :35:10. | :35:12. | |
In Iraq, the ongoing battle for the second city of Mosul | :35:13. | :35:17. | |
could result in the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the war | :35:18. | :35:20. | |
against so-called Islamic State, according to the United Nations. | :35:21. | :35:25. | |
The battle began six months ago and hundreds of thousands | :35:26. | :35:27. | |
of civilians remain trapped inside parts of the city | :35:28. | :35:30. | |
The militants are now surrounded, but the progress of the Iraqi forces | :35:31. | :35:36. | |
has slowed significantly in recent weeks. | :35:37. | :35:38. | |
Our correspondent, Jonathan Beale, and cameraman, | :35:39. | :35:41. | |
Barnaby Mitchell, are embedded with Iraqi troops and they witnessed | :35:42. | :35:45. | |
one of the street battles on the edge of the Old City. | :35:46. | :35:53. | |
Even at night, you can clearly see the scars on the streets of this | :35:54. | :35:58. | |
city and how brutal the battle for Mosul's become. | :35:59. | :36:03. | |
We joined the Iraqi security forces about to mount yet another assault. | :36:04. | :36:15. | |
These the same troops who've already been fighting here for months and, | :36:16. | :36:18. | |
even under the cover of darkness, they know their enemy, | :36:19. | :36:22. | |
so-called Islamic State, will be ready and waiting. | :36:23. | :36:26. | |
As they move into position for what's supposed to be | :36:27. | :36:33. | |
a surprise dawn attack, they're already coming under fire. | :36:34. | :36:37. | |
The commander sets up his headquarters in an abandoned house, | :36:38. | :36:55. | |
soon interrupted by a panic call on the radio - it's | :36:56. | :37:01. | |
Dawn breaks and the Iraqi forces are still pinned down. | :37:02. | :37:14. | |
This battle's been raging now for more than two hours | :37:15. | :37:18. | |
and it is over a matter of streets they're fighting. | :37:19. | :37:24. | |
And, as we hear, there is still fierce resistance from IS. | :37:25. | :37:33. | |
That is a coalition air strike, it's the Iraqis one advantage | :37:34. | :37:35. | |
But even air power can't always spot and silence IS snipers and nor | :37:36. | :37:45. | |
do the rockets fired by Iraqi forces. | :37:46. | :37:48. | |
Throughout the morning, the casualties mount. | :37:49. | :37:55. | |
This one battle, for one street, was still raging when we left, | :37:56. | :38:18. | |
five hours later, out of fear for our own safety. | :38:19. | :38:22. | |
After six months, the Iraqi forces have only now reached | :38:23. | :38:29. | |
the edge of the Old City, much of what you can see on the west | :38:30. | :38:33. | |
side of the Tigris is still under IS control and there's every | :38:34. | :38:36. | |
indication they'll be fighting and dying for every single street. | :38:37. | :38:40. | |
Prince William has said the death of his mother, Princess Diana, | :38:41. | :38:48. | |
was one of the reasons for his involvement in campaigning | :38:49. | :38:50. | |
The Duke of Cambridge's comments today follow those | :38:51. | :38:56. | |
of his brother Prince Harry, who revealed he'd had | :38:57. | :38:58. | |
counselling to help him come to terms with her death. | :38:59. | :39:01. | |
Both Princes have been campaigning for the Heads Together | :39:02. | :39:03. | |
Our royal correspondent, Peter Hunt, reports. | :39:04. | :39:07. | |
A transatlantic call that challenges preconceptions - | :39:08. | :39:16. | |
the campaigning future King garnering the support of a global | :39:17. | :39:19. | |
Lady Gaga has lived with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder | :39:20. | :39:24. | |
We have to make the strongest, most relentless attempt we can | :39:25. | :39:32. | |
to normalise mental health issues so that people feel | :39:33. | :39:35. | |
Thank you, Prince William, have a beautiful day. | :39:36. | :39:39. | |
After his internet brush with stardom, Prince | :39:40. | :39:44. | |
William's next stop - as he strives to smash a taboo - | :39:45. | :39:47. | |
was the BBC for a screening of a documentary presented by Nick | :39:48. | :39:50. | |
Ten people affected by mental health issues, united by one goal - | :39:51. | :39:56. | |
I just feel like I'm not going to be able to do it. | :39:57. | :40:04. | |
Kate, William and Harry want mental health treated like physical health. | :40:05. | :40:11. | |
I really think this is a pivotal moment | :40:12. | :40:13. | |
I really feel we are on the cusp of something really big and I know | :40:14. | :40:18. | |
the BBC are keen to continue covering mental health and really | :40:19. | :40:21. | |
As you can see, you know, I have my own reasons | :40:22. | :40:26. | |
for being involved with mental health, what happened to me | :40:27. | :40:29. | |
One of the mental health runners who met William is Rhian, | :40:30. | :40:33. | |
her one-year-old son died five years ago. | :40:34. | :40:37. | |
Her husband, who blamed himself, took his own life, five days later. | :40:38. | :40:40. | |
She's now confronting and talking about her personal pain. | :40:41. | :40:42. | |
The more people we can get to talk about mental health, | :40:43. | :40:46. | |
the better because the silence is killing people and it really is, | :40:47. | :40:49. | |
I think, yeah, I should stop talking now. | :40:50. | :40:52. | |
Meeting the runners confronting their adversity and watching | :40:53. | :41:01. | |
the programme left William, he said, feeling quite emotional. | :41:02. | :41:03. | |
Their next challenge is the race in six days' time. | :41:04. | :41:05. | |
A brief look at some of the day's other news stories: | :41:06. | :41:15. | |
Police in the US say a gunman, suspected of shooting a man and then | :41:16. | :41:19. | |
posting footage of the murder on Facebook, has committed suicide. | :41:20. | :41:21. | |
Steve Stephens shot himself after being chased | :41:22. | :41:23. | |
The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has said | :41:24. | :41:28. | |
the company will do all it can to prevent similar postings. | :41:29. | :41:32. | |
Police in France have arrested two Islamist militants suspected | :41:33. | :41:36. | |
of planning an imminent attack days before the first round of | :41:37. | :41:38. | |
Prosecutors said that guns and explosives were found | :41:39. | :41:41. | |
in the apartment the suspects shared in Marseille. | :41:42. | :41:50. | |
Over 8,000 migrants were rescued from the Mediterranean over | :41:51. | :41:52. | |
the weekend, after attempting to cross from Libya to Italy | :41:53. | :41:54. | |
in overcrowded boats, according to aid agencies. | :41:55. | :41:57. | |
Fine weather reportedly sparked a spike in the number of people | :41:58. | :42:00. | |
attempting the perilous crossing to Europe. | :42:01. | :42:05. | |
Football, and Leicester City's Champions League dream finally came | :42:06. | :42:08. | |
to an end tonight, after they drew at home with Atletico Madrid. | :42:09. | :42:12. | |
Our sports editor, Dan Roan, was there. | :42:13. | :42:17. | |
The latest chapter in sport's most remarkable fairy-tale. | :42:18. | :42:19. | |
Winning the Premier League's one thing, reaching the last four | :42:20. | :42:23. | |
of the Champions League would take Leicester City to a whole new level. | :42:24. | :42:26. | |
But sporting miracle is what this club's defined by and now these | :42:27. | :42:29. | |
players were intent on seizing a once in a lifetime opportunity. | :42:30. | :42:32. | |
Leicester had returned from the first leg in Spain only | :42:33. | :42:35. | |
a goal behind against one of the finest teams | :42:36. | :42:37. | |
on the continent, but they knew they had to take their chances. | :42:38. | :42:40. | |
And if that was costly, conceding could prove critical. | :42:41. | :42:48. | |
Almost immediately, the hosts punished, Saul Niguez's pin-point | :42:49. | :42:51. | |
header extending Atletico Madrid's lead, the crucial away goal leaving | :42:52. | :42:53. | |
But stranger things have happened as this team has proved and, | :42:54. | :43:03. | |
once again, they set about defying the odds. | :43:04. | :43:05. | |
Substitute Ben Chilwell went close, before talisman, Jamie Vardy, | :43:06. | :43:07. | |
With two more goals needed, suddenly Leicester were dominant, | :43:08. | :43:12. | |
manager Craig Shakespeare urging his side on. | :43:13. | :43:14. | |
The pressure intensified and the hosts never gave in, | :43:15. | :43:16. | |
Having reached two of the last three Champions League finals, | :43:17. | :43:23. | |
Atletico are now one step away again. | :43:24. | :43:25. | |
Leicester's remarkable journey over, but it's one they can be | :43:26. | :43:28. | |
proud of and which will never be forgotten. | :43:29. | :43:34. | |
What's gone on here over the last two seasons defies belief. First | :43:35. | :43:41. | |
that Premier League triumph and in this, the first time Leicester City | :43:42. | :43:44. | |
have been in the Champions League, they've managed to go further than | :43:45. | :43:47. | |
any other of the other British teams this season. The fairytale may | :43:48. | :43:53. | |
finally be over, they now of course have to focus purely on Premier | :43:54. | :43:55. | |
League football, but what they've managed to do is turn football's | :43:56. | :43:59. | |
established order on its head and no one can ever take that away from | :44:00. | :44:05. | |
them. Dan, thank you. Our sports editor there. | :44:06. | :44:07. | |
With more now on the Prime Minister's announcement of a snap | :44:08. | :44:10. | |
election, let's go back to Huw in Downing Street tonight. | :44:11. | :44:12. | |
Our main story tonight is that the Prime Minister has taken | :44:13. | :44:17. | |
everyone by surprise by requesting a general election on the 8th June. | :44:18. | :44:20. | |
Tomorrow, MPs will be asked to approve the plan because under | :44:21. | :44:24. | |
the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act the next election wasn't meant | :44:25. | :44:26. | |
If, as expected, parliamentary approval is granted, | :44:27. | :44:34. | |
it will mean a third UK-wide poll in the space of just two years, | :44:35. | :44:43. | |
something that hasn't been seen since the 1970s. | :44:44. | :44:45. | |
James Landale reports on a period of unpredictable politics. | :44:46. | :44:49. | |
ARCHIVE: At 9.00pm last night, just 23-hours ago, Britain's day | :44:50. | :44:51. | |
In the past, politics seemed so certain. | :44:52. | :44:57. | |
We used to go to the polls every four or five years or so. | :44:58. | :45:00. | |
When we were tired of one party, we'd give the other side a chance. | :45:01. | :45:04. | |
But in the last few years, all that seems to have changed | :45:05. | :45:13. | |
and the UK's now preparing to go to the polls for the third | :45:14. | :45:16. | |
We are encircled by multiple uncertainties to a degree we have | :45:17. | :45:20. | |
never been before in anybody's lifetime, unless they were alive | :45:21. | :45:23. | |
They are on all the fronts - the European question, | :45:24. | :45:26. | |
Britain's place in the world question, the Scottish | :45:27. | :45:28. | |
question, the very existence of the United Kingdom | :45:29. | :45:30. | |
as we recognise it and have grown up in it. | :45:31. | :45:32. | |
All of these are, to a high degree, up in the air. | :45:33. | :45:35. | |
Who would have predicted Nick and Dave's coalition in 2010? | :45:36. | :45:39. | |
Or the referendum they held later on Scotland's place in the union? | :45:40. | :45:45. | |
Few reckoned David Cameron would win an outright majority | :45:46. | :45:47. | |
Just as hardly anyone foresaw the result of | :45:48. | :45:51. | |
The British people have spoken add the answer is: we're out. | :45:52. | :46:00. | |
And yes, few predicted that would mean Theresa May would be in. | :46:01. | :46:10. | |
None of this would have surprised him because there's precedence | :46:11. | :46:12. | |
In the 1920s, there were three general elections | :46:13. | :46:15. | |
But these days, as we ask more of our politicians, | :46:16. | :46:23. | |
are they asking more of us - more votes more often, | :46:24. | :46:26. | |
to renew a mandate or support a particular policy in a referendum? | :46:27. | :46:29. | |
In the 1970s, there was also a two-year period with | :46:30. | :46:35. | |
and a referendum on Europe, in which yes, Mrs Thatcher | :46:36. | :46:38. | |
All this voting doesn't please everyone, like Brenda in Bristol. | :46:39. | :46:45. | |
I can't honestly, I can't stand this. | :46:46. | :46:55. | |
There's too much politics going on at the moment. | :46:56. | :46:57. | |
Well, for some, Theresa May's done it to create more certainty | :46:58. | :47:04. | |
by ending what they see as a constitutional tension | :47:05. | :47:07. | |
between the result of the referendum and the mood in Parliament. | :47:08. | :47:10. | |
There's a conflict between plebiscitary sovereignty, | :47:11. | :47:13. | |
and Parliamentary sovereignty, between the referendum and what | :47:14. | :47:14. | |
Ultimately, parliamentary sovereignty must prevail. | :47:15. | :47:24. | |
That is what our society, our history has depended upon. | :47:25. | :47:26. | |
Theresa May wants a new Parliament to see in a new dawn in Britain's | :47:27. | :47:29. | |
Unless, of course, politics changes suddenly once again | :47:30. | :47:32. | |
Our political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, joins me again. | :47:33. | :47:41. | |
I'm bound to pick up on Brenda's remarks there. There is clearly | :47:42. | :47:48. | |
voter fatigue before we start? Absolutely. She won't be the only | :47:49. | :47:53. | |
one. When you talk to people close to Theresa May they have been | :47:54. | :47:56. | |
conscious of that for holding them back. Does the country want another | :47:57. | :48:00. | |
election? They are aware for many people it will be a sense of - oh, | :48:01. | :48:04. | |
no, here we go again. It comes down to that calculation. They think what | :48:05. | :48:08. | |
stands to be gained, for them, trumps that as one of the risks. | :48:09. | :48:12. | |
They are aware there is a longries of reasons why some people might | :48:13. | :48:16. | |
resent them going forward with this at all. Seven weeks ahead, just | :48:17. | :48:20. | |
about, I'm wondering how you think that will pan out in terms of | :48:21. | :48:23. | |
issues? What kind of campaign will it be? It will be noisy, it will be | :48:24. | :48:27. | |
quick, it will feel like it's going at a rate of knots. Morris than | :48:28. | :48:32. | |
anything else, it will feel extremely different to the last | :48:33. | :48:35. | |
general election. One male reason for that, there nt won't be TV | :48:36. | :48:40. | |
debates. Number Ten made it clear Theresa May isn't interested in the | :48:41. | :48:43. | |
head-to-head clashes we have seen in recent elections. That will look | :48:44. | :48:47. | |
different. There are two other very important differences to the last | :48:48. | :48:52. | |
election. Ed Miliband and David Cameron both young political Cos who | :48:53. | :48:55. | |
rose through the ranks quickly inside their own parties. They had | :48:56. | :48:59. | |
that in common, if you like. Theresa May and jbg wrbg are chalk and | :49:00. | :49:03. | |
cheese. We had the long time rebel, now the leader and the reverent's | :49:04. | :49:07. | |
daughter who worked her way up over the years. Different in style, | :49:08. | :49:11. | |
totally different in political characters, too. Also, the context | :49:12. | :49:15. | |
is completely different. Going into the last general election, all the | :49:16. | :49:19. | |
way through the two main parties, Labour and Tory, were chasing each | :49:20. | :49:22. | |
other day by day for the position to be ahead in the polls. It looked | :49:23. | :49:26. | |
like there was almost nothing in it. Too close to call. Well, in the end, | :49:27. | :49:30. | |
of course, there was a narrow Tory majority. We go into this general | :49:31. | :49:35. | |
election in a completely different set of circumstances. Polls only | :49:36. | :49:39. | |
give us a flavour, but a very, very strong flavour that the Tories enter | :49:40. | :49:44. | |
this race at least with the prospect of a very significant victory, but | :49:45. | :49:48. | |
who knows, 50 days we will have the answers then. Who knows. | :49:49. | :49:51. | |
We will talk again tomorrow. Certainly will. Laura Kuenssberg | :49:52. | :49:54. | |
there are there for us. That's all from Downing Street | :49:55. | :49:58. | |
tonight, on the day Theresa May stunned colleagues and voters | :49:59. | :50:00. | |
by announcing plans for an early There's more overnight | :50:01. | :50:04. | |
on the BBC News Channel | :50:05. | :50:06. |